Sheriff Jeff McQuaide is a modern day sheriff in a small isolated town. In this collection of short stories, he is kept busy trying to keep the peace, live up to his illustrious ancestor and namesake, and solve murders and mysteries within the town.

While this is a collection of standalone stories, they are all set in the same small town and characters recur across several stories, building a real sense of community, with its locals, villains and world.Strong characters and well designed mysteries that are above all believable, make this an anthology to read. The only recurring and slightly out-of-place event seems to be the sheriff getting hit over the head, which happens right as he’s found essential evidence in a few stories. There are a few notable typos such as a confusion of site and sight, but this ebook has at least been spell-checked and the grammar and spelling are good throughout.

The mix of modern-day western and mystery, with the sheriff functioning as detective and law enforcer isn’t one I have seen before, and it is intriguing and realistic. I’m a mystery reader rather than a western fan, and I enjoyed these anyway. There are no great literary pretentions, but for a light action adventure piece it keeps you guessing, and the stories move at a nice pace.

I’d give this a strong 3 to 4 rating. For mystery readers it will keep you guessing, but for Western fans, particularly those who enjoy tightly plotted works, this is definitely worth a read.